Nicholas Bala Covacevich (born January 11, 1938), known professionally as Nick Navarro (and earlier credited as Nick Covacevich and Nick Novarro) is a Mexican-American former dancer and choreographer known for his work in both stage and film productions. As a performer, he was best known in the 1960s with prominent film roles in West Side Story and Hootenanny Hoot, and danced alongside Marilyn Monroe and Sandra Dee. His later work as a choreographer was most closely associated with Las Vegas shows.Barrios, R. (2020). West Side Story: The Jets, the Sharks, and the Making of a Classic. United States: Running Press.
Early life Navarro was born in Mexico City, Mexico, in 1938 to Tomás Covacevich (1899 to 1976California, U.S., Death Index, 1940-1997, Los Angeles; Date: 21 Jan 1976; Social Security: 450528452) and Guadalupe Bala (1909 to 1997California, U.S., Death Index, 1940-1997, San Diego; Date: 6 Feb 1997; Social Security: 450528452). He was the third of their three sons, his two older brothers being Roberto and Jorge. He also had an older half-sister, Maria Esperanza, from his father's first marriage. His father worked on the Mexican railway when Navarro was a child.1930 Mexico National Census, General Directorate of Statistics; El Salvador, Mexico; 1930 Mexico National Census; FHL Number: 1507690 The family moved to Houston, Texas in 1946 when Navarro was eightNational Archives at Kansas City; Kansas City, Missouri; Records of the U.s. Citizenship and Immigration Service (Uscis); Record Group: Records of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS); Record Group Number: 566Ethel Steadman, Two Young Stars Visit To Promote Film, The Greenville News, Greenville, South Carolina · Wednesday, September 04, 1963 and when he was 15, the family moved to Los Angeles. Navarro began dancing in schools at the age of 17 and received a scholarship to continue his study and joined the Lester Horton dancers.
Although Navarro's family name, Covacevich, is Yugoslavian in origin,Miss USA who was Mrs, Married Again, Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania · Saturday, July 25, 1959 his paternal grandparents, Jesús Covacevich and Delfina GastélumDurango, Mexico, Civil Registration Births, 1861-1930, México, Durango, Registro Civil, Nacimientos, 1872–1930. Digital images. Archivo Estatal de Durango. Courtesy of the Academia Mexicana de Genealogia y Heraldica. were both born in Mexico in the 1870s. On his maternal side, all of his great-grandparents were from Mexico.
Career Navarro became a professional with the Lester Horton Dancers and worked in a number of venues among which was the Moulin Rouge night club in Los Angeles (where he met his future wife, Leona Gage, in 1958).Leona Gage to Wed Again, Ledger Star, Norfolk Virginia, November 11, 1958, p 9 Navarro was later signed for a Fred Astaire television show.Harold L. Cail, “Hootenanny Hoot Dancers Give Preview of New Twist,” Evening Express (Portland, Maine), August 24, 1963. When the one-year contract on that show expired, he joined Juliet Prowse whom he had been teaching dance, and toured with her for 18 months.
At the end of the Prowse tour, Navarro auditioned for the film version of West Side Story. He later recalled that there were "Hundreds of dudes, all sizes and shapes". The winnowing-out process involved five or more follow-up calls. Of the over 150 who auditioned in Los Angeles, Navarro was one of three that got a part and his was to be both a dancing and a speaking role as one of the Sharks, Toro.
Before performing in West Side Story, Navarro had had a chorus role in the Marilyn Monroe film Let's Make Love (alongside Robert Banas, another West Side Story dancer). However, the success of West Side Story opened up a number of opportunities in film including a dual role in Take Her, She's Mine alongside Sandra Dee, where he played both a French lover and an Apache dancer. He then landed the role as Jed Morse alongside Pamela Austin in Hootenanny Hoot in 1963. At this time, he was regarded as one of the nations top young dancers.The Charlotte News, Charlotte, North Carolina · Saturday, September 14, 1963 Whilst performing in Hootenanny Hoot, Navarro assisted choreographer Hal Belfer in working out many of the steps in the new dance being promoted by the movie (at the time hoping to "nudge the Twist and Bossa Nova to one side").
Navarro had by this time changed his stage name from Covacevich to Novarro. When interviewed during the promotional tour of Hootenanny Hoot, he said that Novarro was a family name that he had decided to use because Covacevich was too hard to pronounce.Young Stars Visit Raleigh On Tour for Hootin’ Movie, The News and Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina · Tuesday, September 10, 1963
Navarro danced in the film adaptation of My Fair Lady and as Nick Novarro, he had a major role in Scream of the Butterfly in 1965 alongside Nelida Lobato. He also had 1966 roles in The Swinger and The Pad (and How to Use It), a film that earned James Farentino a Golden Globe for most promising newcomer.
His live performance career continued alongside these major forays into movies. After his final promotion stop for Hootenanny Hoot, he flew straight to Hot Springs, Arkansas to open Juliet Prowse's night club act there.Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas · Thursday, September 12, 1963 He also later costarred with Mamie Van Doren in the show Ziegfeld Follies at the Thunderbird Hotel.Weatherford, M. (2001). Cult Vegas: The Weirdest! the Wildest! the Swingin'est Town on Earth!. P233 United States: Huntington Press.
Throughout the early sixties Novarro was also a dance teacher and worked with notable students, including some he would support or co-star with such as Juliet Prowse, Pamela Austin, Pamela Mason, and Vera-Ellen.Norman Ridenhour, Hootenanny show called good field, Birmingham Post-Herald, Birmingham, Alabama, August 29, 1963.
Navarro then turned his energy to choreography and ran the successful Nick Navarro Dancers group. As well as Las Vegas shows he also choreographed the 1974 Annual Las Vegas Entertainment Awards. He then spent time in the south of France and Monte Carlo. In 1977 he was based at Le Ruhl Casino in Nice where he choreographed a well received show Happy Broadway to YouCLAUDE DURIEUX, Entre Nice et Monte-Carlo Les points show de la Côte, Le Monde, published 29 January 1977,
In the 1980s he continued to choreograph internationally, as well as in Las Vegas, and also had some Television credits such as Kandyland in 1987. Other TV credits in the early 1990s included Delusion in 1991 and La Toya Jackson's Playboy Celebrity Centerfold in 1994. He was also engaged as choreographer for productions on cruise ships (such as the Royal Caribbean's Sovereign of the Seas).Airline, Ship & Catering Onboard Services Magazine. P17, (1994). United States: International Publishing Company of America.Home & Away. (1995). United States: Home & Away, Incorporated.page 32
In 2000, Navarro choreographed the renowned Splash at the Riviera, Las Vegas in 2000Joe Delaney, Variety highlights revamped 'Splash' at Riviera, January 7, 2000 Las Vegas Sun
Personal life In October 1958, whilst performing in the Moulin Rouge night club in Los Angeles, he met fellow performer and former Miss USA 1957, Leona Gage. Within four weeks they announced their engagement, and were married that year.Orlando Evening Star; Publication Date: 11/ Nov/ 1958; Publication Place: Orlando, Florida, USA; URL: https://www.newspapers.com/image/290568784/?article=94ca71f6-335a-461f-a355-d650ba348937&focus=0.021014092,0.67290616,0.26880303,0.77457887&xid=3398 They had one son together, Nicholas Anthony, but their short marriage was beset by fighting and they divorced in 1961. In August 1963, Navarro won custody of his son from Gage.Leona Gage Loses Custody of Young Son, The Evening Sun, Hanover, Pennsylvania · Wednesday, August 14, 1963
Navarro then had a two-year relationship with Juliet Prowse following her break-up with Frank Sinatra. There were rumours that Navarro and Prowse had secretly married, but these were firmly denied by Prowse.Harrison Carroll, Behind the Scenes in Hollywood, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania · Thursday, June 18, 1964
After his relationship with Prowse, Navarro met Dagmar Wrede, a Swedish ex-ballerina and Las Vegas showgirlPhiladelphia Daily News, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, p31, Thursday, June 06, 1968(although sometimes reported as hailing from Germany)Phil Solomon, Lights of Las Vegas, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Honolulu, Hawaii · Sunday, March 19, 1967 and married her in 1964.Nevada, U.S., Marriage Index, 1956-2005 The marriage to Wrede was short-lived, and in 1968 he married Jacqueline Douguet.Las Vegas Limelight, Barney Glazer, Longview News-Journal Longview, Texas · Sunday, May 26, 1968 However, this ended in divorce a year later.Nevada, U.S., Divorce Index, 1968-2015 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.
Navarro then married Mary Lucrezia Lapenta in 1973 to whom he would be married for 25 years before divorcing in 1998.Control Certificate Number 7654250, Nevada State Health Division, Office of Vital Records. Nevada Divorce Index, 1968-2005. Carson City, Nevada: Nevada State Health Division, Office of Vital Records. They had three children, Mario, Ophelia and Brianna.
In August 2000, Navarro married Reiko Bright.Book 905, Page D226480, Clark County, Nevada Marriage Bureau. Clark County, Nevada Marriage Index, 1956-1966. Las Vegas, Nevada: Clark County, Nevada Marriage Bureau. They divorced in 2021.[In the Matter of the Joint Petition for Divorce of: Reiko Carol Bright Covacevich and Nicolas Bala Covacevich https://unicourt.com/case/nv-clad-in-the-matter-of-the-joint-petition-for-divorce-of-reiko-carol-bright-covacevich-and-nicolas-bala-covacevich-986272]
Productions Acting Film The I Don't Care Girl (1953), Dancer (uncredited) West Side Story (1961 film) - Toro, member of the Sharks Let's Make Love (1961), Chorus Boy (uncredited) Calypso Joe (1962) Hootenanny Hoot (1963) – Jed Morse (credited as Nic Novarro) Take Her, She's Mine (1963) - dancer My Fair Lady (1964) – Dancer (uncredited) Scream of the Butterfly (1965) – David (credited as Nic Novarro) The Swinger (1966) – Bearded Bitnik (uncredited) The Pad (and How to Use It) (1966) – Beatnik
Television Appeared on The Fred Astaire TV Spectacular, as well as the shows of Andy Williams, Bob Hope, and Danny Kaye (by 1963).Marvin Cobie, Two stars stop here to promote movie, Winston-Salem Journal, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, September 5, 1963. Mona McCluskey (1966) – The Beard
Choreography
Film and Video Playboy Celebrity Centerfold: La Toya Jackson (1994) – Choreographer (credited as Nick Covacevich) Delusion (1991) – Choreographer Kandyland (1987) – Choreographer
Television The 1974 Annual Las Vegas Entertainment Awards (1974) – Choreographer
References